Agenda item

To consider the South and East Lincolnshire Community Safety Strategy 2022-25 prior to adoption (report of the Assistant Director – Wellbeing and Community Leadership enclosed). 

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Wellbeing and Community Leadership to seek the Policy Development Panel’s views on the South and East Lincolnshire Community Safety Strategy 2022-25, prior to adoption.

The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager introduced the report which set out the duties placed on local authorities and other named statutory agencies in relation to crime and disorder (Section 5-7 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998). The report outlined the current Community Safety Partnership (CSP) arrangements across the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (S&ELCP) and in Lincolnshire as a whole.

The policy provided for a strategic response which was locally owned and covered the following priority areas:

• Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB);
• Hate Crime;
• Safter Street and Night-Time Economy;
• The Safety of Women and Girls; and
• Vulnerability and Safeguarding.

The policy would be subject to annual reviews.

Members considered the policy and made the following comments.

• Members welcomed the report.

• Members referred to the Safer Street section of the policy which looked at environmental issues such as poor street lighting, blind spots, and hidden areas and asked whether links were being made with the SHDC Planning department to shape improvements. Some new housing developments had faced community safety challenges.
  • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager confirmed that engagement with Planning was integral to the day-to-day work however some residential developments had presented community safety challenges. The implementation of mitigations, such as Safe Zones and the installation of CCTV, had been put in place to target issues experienced around the night-time economy.
  • The Assistant Director – Wellbeing and Community Leadership welcomed members’ feedback and stated that the consideration of utilising Planning tools to address issues of community safety across the Partnership would be beneficial. It was suggested that the Review of Implemented Planning Decisions tour to be undertaken by Performance Monitoring Panel members on 27 October 2022 could also incorporate this aspect.

• Members stated that police resources were challenging, and reports of safety issues were often made to ward members. Would the implementation of the strategy enable focussed attention on areas which had experienced an increased volume of incidents, and could response activity be communicated to residents? A pro-active approach was needed.
  • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager responded that:
    • residents did not need to wait for the strategy to be adopted and should report all incidents to the police so that relevant action could be taken, including: targeted patrols; police inspections of the area to investigate development opportunities; and a visible presence by Community Wardens;
    • the Community Safety team met fortnightly with the police to receive case updates; and
    • enquiries would be made with the local Inspector to ascertain whether patrol records were available and could be made public.

• Members requested to be advised when Community Wardens were scheduled to visit their ward. Members also suggested that Community Wardens engage with residents at a neighbourhood/Parish Council level to understand local communities and aid with the sharing of intelligence.

• Members suggested that South Holland District Council lobby Lincolnshire County Council (L.C.C) to reverse the decision to turn off streetlights in housing estates at night, as this decision had resulted in feelings of vulnerability among residents.
• A member of the Committee advised the Panel that L.C.C. was in the process of removing the requirement for streetlights to be installed in new housing estates. Street furniture would be illuminated but it was unclear what this related to. The date of implementation was not known but the member would investigate, and the details would be forwarded to the Chairman of the Policy Development Panel and the Community Safety and Enforcement Manager.

o   The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager responded that she had not previously been made aware of this development and welcomed the update.

o   The Assistant Director – Wellbeing and Community responded that interrogation of data would establish whether increased reporting of issues had occurred during the period when streetlights were switched off. The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager would review the data and any intelligence would inform the consideration of future action.

• Members stated that both footway lighting and street lighting, the responsibilities of the District Council and County Council respectively, should be considered when developments were discussed at Planning Committee meetings.

AGREED:

a)    That the comments of the Panel be noted;

b)    That the Panel noted the contents of the report and the work of the partners in addressing crime and disorder in South and East Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire as a whole;

c)    That the Panel recommended that Cabinet agree to adopt the Community Safety Strategy and identified priorities for the SELCSP for the period 2022-25; and

d)    That the Panel recommended that Cabinet agrees to provide delegated authority for the Deputy Chief Executive (Communities) to finalise with the relevant Portfolio Holders a programme for the development of a Community Safety Action Plan.